Does anyone else find the Variax digital cable much stiffer than a traditional guitar cable?
by keef_usa on 2013-03-13 09:28:07.4860

Hi, this may look like an odd / dumb question; I just got an old Variax 600 yesterday off eBay, and I find the Variax digital cable very stiff and unwieldy when I think of using that rig at a gig amongst other players / listeners / waitrons etc. I've always been fussy about cables being overly "kinky." The fact that it's 25 feet is great but if it doesn't straighten very easily you're onstage with 25 feet of cumbersome cable that is really Ethernet cable more than your usual guitar cord.

Second question, if you grant the premise of the first question: what to do? Are there any old folk remedies for this kind of thing, similar to the old 'boil the guitar strings / boil the cd' trick? I'm not about to boil the 'digital cable' though.

Thanks all.

Re: Does anyone else find the Variax digital cable much stiffer than a traditional guitar cable?
by silverhead on 2013-03-13 10:11:37.5150

Yes - it is undeniably much stiffer than a normal guitar cable. It loosens up over time, but many players prefer to use a technically equivalent cable from a different manufacturer. Here is a recent thread about that: